I decided to include a “pep talk” in the first follow-up email that went out to members who didn’t respond to the initial email. It went like this:

This research is a team effort. It isn’t conducted for corporate clients. It’s conducted for those who participate in it–you.

As with other teams, if too many members rely on others to carry the ball, the team will fail. With the best teams, everyone plays, and everyone wins.

We’re doing well, much better than many expected. It’s hard to get anything that requires the participation of thousands of people off the ground. We are doing it.

We’ve gone from hundreds of responses to thousands, and within the next year it’ll be tens of thousands. Our response rate is far higher than other such surveys. The next set of results will be the largest yet.

But dozens of models for which enough owners are signed up will not be in the results because too many members are deciding to let others carry the ball.

We’re a good team that can be a great team. People are here for the right reasons. And the load is not heavy. If you don’t have a repair to report, we’re talking under a minute. Even if you have a repair to report, the survey is short.

So please click on the appropriate link (or links, if you have multiple cars) below. Let’s make the best results yet even better–for all of us.

I’ve been told more than a few times that my emails contain too many words. And I’d love to just include the links to the surveys in those emails. But this latest email makes the case for words. Three months ago, with the typical follow-up content, about 360 responses rolled in before midnight. This time: close to 900.

Overall, nearly 3,750 responses have been received so far. We’re aiming for another 1,000 before the end of the month. The next set of results is projected to include about 90 models, and another 90 with asterisks for sample sizes between 15 and 24.

If you’ve already responded, thanks for doing your bit for the team. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?